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Birds of North America and Greenland by Norman Arlott - A useful, very portable illustrated checklist

One thing birders can never seem to have enough of…bird books!   I typically only ever have one field guide with me when I head out, but I DO admit it’s not always the same field guide.  Sibley’s is still the guide I tend to carry the most, but unlike some birders, I really don’t have a clear preference for one guide, or even whether the guide is based on photographs or illustrations (something I know will invoke some serious arguments among some birders).  So, in the spirit of adding yet another book to my rotating, traveling collection, I picked up the “Birds of North America and Greenland”, by Norman Arlott.

This book is in a little bit of a different category than your standard field guide like a Sibley’s.  The Birds of North America and Greenland is offered as an “Illustrated Checklist”.  What’s the difference, you ask, between a field guide and an illustrated checklist?  For one, this book is VERY portable.  While I like Sibley’s, to me it’s just too big to actually carry in the field, so if I’m out hiking, a bigger guide like Sibley’s inevitably stays in the car.  Not so with this book, as it’s much smaller and lighter weight than a Sibley’s.  It something I could easily see myself carrying in the field for a day of birding, and that factor alone makes it a useful book for me.

The book achieves the smaller size through more judicious use of illustrations, and both less text and smaller font text than you’ll find in many guides.  The guide has over 100 color plates with very clear illustrations.  Don’t look for the level of detail you’ll find in a heftier guide though.  Illustrations are often limited to two per species, often showing both male and female if plumages are different.  Some plates do also have flight illustrations, with the pages for raptors, for example, providing very useful (but small) illustrations of raptors in flight.  The text is also less extensive than many field guides.  Text is typically limited to one sentence each for 1) Field Notes, 2) Voice, 3) Habitat, and 4) Distribution.   One negative of the format for me is the presentation of the typical distribution maps found in field guides.  Distribution maps for North America are included for every species, but they are extremely small.  They are also tucked in on the far right edge of the left-side page, next to the binding.  With both the small size and tight location next to the binding, it’s difficult to practically utilize the maps in the field.  In fact, when I first opened the guide, I didn’t even notice the distribution maps, they’re that difficult to see and use.

With a smaller format, less text, and smaller and fewer illustrations than a larger guide like a Sibley’s, what is the place for this book on a birder’s bookshelf?  To me, the book has three primary niches: 1) A small, high-quality guide to carry when portability is a key concern, and 2) A guide for more advanced birders who don’t need the extra “coddling” that a larger, more detailed guide may provide.  It’s not that the guide isn’t useful for a beginning birder, as I certainly think the book would be useful for beginners as well.  However, the guide has limited space for text outlining detailed identification keys, with illustrations also lacking visual queues or references pointing to key identification keys.  For a more experienced birder, that may be less of an issue. 

I’ve been birding for about 11 years now.  When I first started birding and didn’t know a Downy Woodpecker from a Pileated Woodpecker, I would have found this guide very useful, especially given the ease of use while in the field.  But I also may have occasionally needed a more detailed guide that DID coddle me a bit more.   As a more experienced birder now, I can easily see myself carrying this guide alone in the field, something I could easily stash and carry, and have on hand in case I did need a quick reference.

Princeton University Press advertises the book as an “Illustrated Checklist”, but don’t let the name fool you.  It’s more a “lite” field guide.  If portability is a key issue, this is a wonderful, concise, and useful guide that birders will find very useful while in the field.  If you’re a more experienced birder and don’t need the extra detail of a Sibley’s guide, you will also find this guide extremely useful.   The “illustrated checklist”, Birds of North America and Greenland, definitely fills a niche on a birder’s bookshelf, and for a very reasonable $15.95, it’s a book I can heartily recommend.